Yet another secret chamber
by Dark Fairy of the Wood
Summary: Yes, there's *another* secret chamber at Hogwarts!!! Join Harry, Herm, Draco, Cho and the gang as they race to find the *real* reasons why Gryffs and Snakes hate each other..... possible DM/CC and HP/PP (not Wormtail, you fools!), you decide!!!
1. How many secret chambers, you said?

Summary: Have you ever wondered why Gryffindors and Slytherins hate each other (the real reason)? Join Harry, Herm, Draco, Pansy, Cho, Hannah and the gang as they race to find those reasons and much more...The timeline swaps between the Fouders time and Harry's. Not Slash (I surprise even myself at times).  
  
Disclaimer: you know how it goes, why should I write it again? The characters and settings and everything you recognise are not mine, I'm only borrowing them. I do own the plot, though *smiles proudly*.  
  
*** *** indicates a change in the timeline, swapping from Founders' time to Harry's present or vice versa.  
  
  
  
Yet another Chamber, by Dark Fairy  
  
Chapter 1: How many secret chambers does Hogwarts have?  
  
  
  
The Hogwarts Express puffed loudly and slowly began to gather speed, leaving the dirty tracks of the King's Cross station and zooming past unaware Muggles, soon reaching the safer countryside. It was Harry Potter's fifth year and he intended to enjoy every minute of it, Dark Lord or not, to make up for his wretched summer with the Dursleys. As he sat back on the faded cushions of his chair, watching Hermione read a book ('Only for the second time this summer, I want to get the hang of Arithmancy'), and Ron and Ginny playing chess, he made a promise to make this the best year yet.  
  
A shadow came from the other side of the compartment door, and a drawling voice froze everyone.  
  
"...my father said it was worth researching, so I suppose it's really important" said Draco Malfoy to his interlocutor "If you want to join me, I suppose we could reach an agreement. You *are* a pure-blood, are you not?"  
  
"I am" said Cho Chang's somehow impatient voice. Harry blushed, then paled, then turned quite green. Malfoy talking to Cho? Ron shot him a sympathetic look, and soon both voices floated down the corridor, leaving Harry feeling quite aggravated.  
  
***  
  
"I can tell you this, I want to read the damn book, and if you are too much of a coward to help me, it will be better if you stay out of this and let me and Salazar do the work" Rowena shook her head, letting her auburn plaid recoil like a snake, and faced Godric, to whom the little speech was dedicated.  
  
"Rowena, I do not wish to be caught in fault by Mr Grundy, that is all" reasoned the tall boy "Last time he caught me out of bed, he gave me a detention cleaning the stables without magic" He still sounded offended at this.  
  
"We won't get caught this time, Salazar has it all worked out" insisted Rowena, preparing another pleading smile, only to be faced with Godric's determined look.  
  
"Stop behaving like small children, you two" scolded Helga kindly "And you, Rowena, what is the need in pressing Godric? If he doesn't wish to go, it is his decision"  
  
"Oh, Mother Hen, stop reprimanding me!" whined Rowena, ready to ignore the rest of Helga's words, and turning to Godric instead.  
  
From her place in the garden, Helga watched them with a smile: there was always someone arguing, it was hard to believe the four of them were best friends seeing the way they acted around each other. Only her, Helga Hufflepuff, naturally sweet and good-tempered, managed to keep a precarious peace between the explosive tempers of Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor. She picked up the herbs she had been gathering and went inside, to be greeted by a usual scene: Salazar, sitting at his desk, reading and writing alternatively, his long dark hair tied loosely back and a look of intense concentration on his face. The dumpy girl waited until Salazar finished a paragraph before interrupting him.  
  
"Would you not prefer to spend a while outside? The weather is very beautiful, Salazar, and you could help Rowena convince Godric of joining your little expedition tonight" The boy smiled, his white teeth flashing a predatory grin.  
  
"If Rowena cannot bend Godric to her will, I shall fare not better, dear Helga" said the dark-haired boy.  
  
"You know that fuelling that I-shall-be-braver-than-thou feeling, Godric will easily yield" exclaimed Rowena from the door "Please, Salazar" With a sigh, the boy got up and went to find his friend, to talk him into a little rule-breaking.  
  
***  
  
It was raining when they arrived at Hogwarts, and it didn't improve Harry's mood, although Cho didn't make any other gesture of acknowledging Malfoy, and instead smiled to Harry, kindly ignoring his blush. She was still wearing mourning robes, but otherwise she seemed quite fine, and it pleased Harry to no end.  
  
The Welcoming Feast and Sorting Ceremony went on as usual, and soon Harry found himself in his old bedroom, feeling more at home than he had done in the whole summer. It wasn't long before he was fast asleep, well covered by the red blankets, hearing the rain hit the windows softly. Hermione was also asleep, her head resting on the heavy Arithmancy volume, with Crookshanks as he only companion in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
Meanwhile, in the Slytherin dorms, Draco Malfoy was unsuccessfully trying to find a legible page in a very old, dusty and mouldy volume he had borrowed under Madam Pince's indignant nose. Sighing with frustration, he pushed the book aside and started a letter to his mother. In the girl's dorm, Pansy finished giving the hundredth brush-stroke to her shiny golden hair, and prepared herself to go to sleep.  
  
Cho Chang was also reading, this time the latest edition of 'Hogwarts: A History'; she went over paragraphs she knew by heart, trying to find a clue to what she was looking for in the familiar words. It was no use, but it took her most of the night. Terry Boot, on an armchair nearby, finished the seventh stanza of a poem he had started on the train, and dedicated the rest of the time to read Baudelaire.  
  
Ernie McMillan and the other Hufflepuff boys were discussing the last Magpies match, arguing hotly over the alignment of the players. Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot discussed whether Draco Malfoy should win, again, the 'Hottest Hunk of Hogwarts' award. Dumbledore sat in his office, sucking thoughtfully on a lemon drop and reading his horoscope. Deep inside the maze of Hogwarts, a room laid uninhabited and closed as it had been left many years before.  
  
***  
  
"I still do not think it was a very good idea" hesitated Helga, recoiling a bit under the stern gazes of her three friends.  
  
"Helga, sweetheart, it is a bit too late back off now, do you not share my feelings?" hissed Salazar, half-hidden behind a suit of armour. The four of them where standing on the empty hallway of Mr Gundy's School of Wizardry, very late at night, trying to reach the library without getting caught and punished.  
  
"Can you go back on your own?" whispered Godric worriedly; the little witch shook her head helplessly.  
  
"I told you you shouldn't have come!" snapped Rowena impatiently; she was the one that had started the quest for the forbidden volume and she wasn't about to let Helga ruin it all.  
  
"You cannot stay here, you cannot go back, so the best option is to go forwards" concluded Salazar, stepping out of the shadows to grab Helga's trembling elbow and striding forwards with her. The other couple followed them, all listening intently for a teacher's footfall, or the sneaky approach of a ghost. Finally they reached the small library, with its high oak shelves and magnificent curtains and peered into it. It was empty.  
  
"Where is the book supposed to be?" whispered Godric, although his attempt at discretion could be heard in the whole room.  
  
"I have not the slightest idea" admitted Rowena through gritted teeth "That is the reason I asked for your company"  
  
"And I had hoped it was for our company's sake" muttered Salazar, not letting go of Helga's arm, but walking towards the desk of the librarian "How did you say the book was called?"  
  
"'Beguiling Branches of the British Banshee-Banishing, by Bill Baggings'" replied Rowena, sounding a little ashamed.  
  
"Could it be any other?" asked Salazar ironically, going through some rolls of parchment. On his left, Godric walked past a row full of manuscripts, giving a careless look to them.  
  
"Oh, look, a book on dragons!" exclaimed the blonde boy, reaching for a slim volume laying on the table; only Rowena's slim hand stopped him.  
  
"Don't touch it, you fool! Don't you know Madam Prince bewitches books to tell her who took them? Come and help me find *my* book instead, that is the reason we are here!" She dragged the tall, blonde boy along the shelves. "It should be in the Dark Arts section, unless I'm much mistaken..."  
  
"Rowena..."  
  
"Not now, Godric!"  
  
"Now, Rowena, because there's a very large snake staring at us!" exclaimed Godric, backing away from the reptile, who hissed menacingly, and dragging his companion with him. "I am never again coming into the library, of that much I am sure!"  
  
"Where the Hell is Salazar?! He's the Parselmouth here"  
  
"And how come he didn't see this creature coming? Helga, I can believe it, but Salazar... Whoa!" Godric dodged particularly violent attack from the snake and stepped in front of Rowena, shaking from head to foot, but still courageous "You know, Rowena, if I don't make it, there's something I want to tell you..."  
  
"Dissolvio!" said Salazar's rich voice, interrupting the tender moment and disintegrating the snake into a cloud of smoke. "Frankly, you two, I would have expected you could tell a real snake from a fake after all these years together" Ignoring the glares he was getting, and without taking his arm off Helga's waist, he drew a slim book out of his cloak. "Here's your book, Rowena, but now we should make our way back, I suppose someone must have heard the scandal you made"  
  
"How dare you!" shrieked Rowena, clutching the book tightly and trying to even her breathing "You could have killed us from the fright, or worst of all, got us caught and expelled... and stop laughing, Helga, come on!" The two girls marched forwards, skipping from shadow to shadow, while the two boys remained behind, looking at them.  
  
"She really needs to sort out her priorities" commented Godric, shaking his head. "But that was a very good one, man!"  
  
"What was it you were about to tell her, Godric?" asked the dark-haired boy maliciously, ignoring the compliment.  
  
"Me? Nothing!" blushing, Godric started walking back to the boys dorm.  
  
***  
  
"I really need to know what those two were talking about!" exclaimed Harry for the umpteenth time since the conversation he had overheard in the train. Hermione slammed shut her Runes dictionary, and Ron dropped the quill on his Divinations homework: they had rehearsed this.  
  
"Harry, will you stop thinking about it?! You can hardly expect to walk up to Cho asking her: 'Hi, I was eavesdropping your private conversation, but I didn't get all of it. Would you mind telling me the rest?'!!!"  
  
"Yes" picked up Ron "Or maybe Malfoy himself will come here to inform you of his business, that's likely, isn't it?!" Harry dropped his gaze, ashamed, but raised it again when he heard the familiar drawl.  
  
"I'm not here to inform you of my business, as much as you'd like to" Draco Malfoy was standing in front of them, on his own for a change, tapping his fingers impatiently on the oak table. Harry felt himself blushing: how much of the conversation had he heard? "But unfortunately, I do need to talk to you. Meet me in the disused storage room, on the fifth floor of the Astronomy Tower, tonight at twelve. Not all of you, Weasel, just the Mudblood and Scarhead. And *don't* be late, I have better things to do than waiting for you" The Slytherin had already turned to leave, when Hermione, ignoring his insult, replied for her open-mouthed friends.  
  
"What makes you think we're going to fall for this again? You really must be losing your touch if you think you can trick us like that!"  
  
"I'm not trying to trick you, Mudblood. If you don't want to go, it'll be your problem. Chang will be there, if you're interested, Potter" And Malfoy left the library, leaving three dumbfounded Gryffindors.  
  
  
  
Later that night, a small muffled sound disconcerted Mrs Norris, who even with feline sight, couldn't relate any rule-breaking students to it, and preferred to go down to the kitchens for a nice dish of warm milk. The noise continued making its way to the Astronomy Tower, and up to the fifth floor.  
  
"We're late" whispered a female voice. A male voice answered her.  
  
"Let's go inside, then" The Invisibility Cloak fell to the floor, and Harry quickly picked it up and stowed it in his pocket. He carefully pushed the door open, only to be faced with a few surprised students.  
  
"Hey, it's you!" exclaimed Cho, relieved "We thought for a moment that Draco hadn't been able to convince you" Hannah Abbot and Justin Finch- Fletchley smiled at them from their place on the floor, and Terry Boot just gave them a quick glance before turning back to his book. "Now, we'll just wait for Draco to come"  
  
As if on cue (and it probably was), the fireplace flashed and Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson stepped out, brushing the soot out of their correct school robes.  
  
"Hello, Draco!" exclaimed Cho "Hi, Pansy. We're all here now, aren't we?"  
  
"I think so, Chang" drawled Malfoy, giving a once-over to the congregation, and dedicating a sinister smirk to Harry, who was feeling more and more ill every time that Cho called Malfoy 'Draco'.  
  
"What are we here for?" asked Hermione, short and to the point.  
  
"Oh, you mean Draco didn't tell you?" The said Slytherin shrugged, and Cho rehearsed an apologetic smile. "Well, I'll go through it again, so we can all start on equal terms. During this summer, in a visit I made to Malfoy Manor, in one of its oldest and most interesting books, I found a very brief reference to a chamber here at Hogwarts: the Founders Chamber" She paused for effect and found that most of her audience was attentive indeed, except for Malfoy, of course, who just stared out of the window "There wasn't much said about it: just a verse or two, in very Old English, but the gist of it is..."  
  
***  
  
"We will leave only one object inside: our most prized possession, the one we want to legate to the best of our students" said solemnly the red-clad figure. A yellow-clad, shorter figure at his side interrupted him.  
  
"You already left your sword to the care of the Sorting Hat... Rowena's books are all in the Library, and I haven't got anything to give at all"  
  
"We'll find something when the time comes, Helga, don't worry about that" said the tallest, darkest figure, drawing a green-clad arm over the yellow figure. To their side, the fourth person, blue-clad and static, assented.  
  
***  
  
"But, why are we searching for it now? Why hasn't anyone found it yet? You would have thought that after all these years, someone would have stumbled upon it..." interjected Hermione.  
  
"You don't just 'stumble' over a chamber like that. All of Hogwarts' secret chambers" swift mocking look to Harry "have more or less complicated ways to get to them. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened only three times in the history of the school, and it is comparatively easy to gain access into it" Malfoy had finally decided to participate in the discussion, and Cho shot him a grateful look.  
  
"The Chamber of Love opens quite often, every generation or such, but it is always hushed up by the Headmaster" continued the Ravenclaw girl "The Chamber of Wisdom was opened in the Eighteenth century, but it burned up afterwards, so it was lost. The Chamber of Renewal is only opened to the staff in very special situations, and the Chamber of Grace is now Professor Trelawney's classroom." Cho stopped consulting the piece of parchment on her hand and looked up. "The chamber we are looking for is much more powerful than any of those. No-one knows what it may contain, but surely it must be a magical object of some sort, probably belonging to the Founders..."  
  
"And why don't we ask the teachers?" said Hermione, voting for her favourite option.  
  
"We would have to speak to the Head of each our houses, and while Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout would only forbid us to do it and talk to the Headmaster, Professors Snape and Sinistra might take... another course of action"  
  
"We don't trust them" clarified Malfoy "Besides, the opportunity of discovering this chamber by ourselves is quite magnificent... it would be momentous indeed"  
  
"But it won't be without danger, or without difficulty. That's why we chose you: the two best students of each house, boy and girl, making the best team that Hogwarts has yet seen" Cho looked frightfully Slytheriny with her black eyes shining like that, but to Harry it all made a very pretty effect; the other students just looked terribly pleased with the compliment.  
  
"For the moment, the key word is 'discretion'" said Malfoy sternly, breaking the moment. "We can't afford *anyone* finding out about this: no best friends, no siblings, no parents, no favourite teachers, no diaries... No-one. At the same time we need to gather more information than the scanty poem we have at the moment. And no cheating: we're a team now, however it may disgust some of us"  
  
"It's true" picked up Cho "The four houses are needed for this, otherwise we could have done it on our own, Draco and me. Every one of you must promise, now, to keep the secret and collaborate as you are able; you *must* dedicate to this, mind, body and soul"  
  
"And if we don't?" asked Justin, looking intimidated, and feeling even more so.  
  
"We Obliviate you" answered Malfoy easily, with a charming grin. Justin feel silent, signalling that he had no more questions.  
  
"I brought a Swear Stone" said Cho, while rummaging into a bag; she brought out a large, round, black and polished stone, with strange signs etched into it. "Unless someone wants to drop out now, put your hand onto it" Malfoy complied, bringing Pansy with him and, after a moment's hesitation, the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Terry followed. "We shall fight together for the discovery of the Founders' Chamber. We shall share all the information concerning it, putting aside personal and historical differences. We shall dedicate to this sole task as much as our lives allow us. We shall do this, and this we swear. Be done" The black stone, who was floating now, shone brightly for a moment, before turning dull again and dropping to the floor.  
  
"That's done, then" commented Draco Malfoy "Let us go, Pansy darling, we have Arithmancy tomorrow morning, and being so long in the company of Gryffindors cannot be good for us"  
  
"Being civil would be a nice start to this, don't you think so?" interrupted Hermione with a frown.  
  
"Come, Hermione, don't pay him any mind" soothed Cho, giving a half-glare to Draco, who just smirked in return.  
  
"Cho, Hannah, Justin, Terry, Gryffs, you too, goodnight" said Malfoy and the Slytherins stepped into the fire and disappeared.  
  
"We should go and try to sleep for a bit, we all have lessons tomorrow. Goodnight" dismissed Cho, taking Terry Boot by the arm and silently making their way out, followed by Justin and Hannah. The two Gryffindors stayed put for a moment, before Hermione turned to Harry, wearing a dazed expression and asked:  
  
"What have we gotten ourselves into?"  
  
---------- A/N: So, how was it? Good, bad, mediocre? Leave your opinion (flames will be used to save on the electricity bill) and keep your eyes open for the next update... Thanks for reading, and yes, reviews will be answered. 


	2. How many more books, Merlin!

A/N: I'm sorry I cannot write Olden English for the Founders, but English is actually my very second language and I don't trust myself to go back in time with it... besides, the Founders could have spoken in Anglo-Saxon for all we know!!!  
  
Summary: Have you ever wondered why Gryffindors and Slytherins hate each other (the real reason)? Join Harry, Herm, Draco, Pansy, Cho, Hannah and the gang as they race to find those reasons and much more...The timeline swaps between the Founders time and Harry's. Not Slash (I surprise even myself at times).  
  
Disclaimer: you know how it goes, why should I write it again? The characters and settings and everything you recognise are not mine, I'm only borrowing them. I do own the plot, though *smiles proudly*. The quote belongs to the works of Whinnie the Pooh, by AA Milne.  
  
*** *** indicates a change in the timeline, swapping from Founders' time to Harry's present or vice versa.  
  
Now, for the thank-yous:  
  
Jenn: I know the story may seem a bit confusing at the beginning, but I hope it clears along the way... if it helps you, you can try reading the Founders bit first, and then Harry's. dn: Decent interaction between Cho and Draco? Yes, probably... I don't know if I'll ship them, but it's a strong possibility! hannirose: I like the name Hannah, of course it makes you special!!! And I mean to make a real character out of the poor Hufflepuff, don't worry about that! CassandrAIarwen: flirting, most definitely; relationship, maybe, maybe not... it's my first Cho/Draco, so bear with me! (By the way, for me "slash" means same-sex relationships, and the ways of making *that* happen between Cho and Draco are quite slim...)  
  
Yet another Chamber, by Dark Fairy  
  
Chapter two: How many books can one read before going mad?  
  
"The wrong answers are the ones you go looking for when the right answer is staring you in the face" Eeyore, the Old Grey Donkey  
Harry gave a very deep sigh and raised his tired eyes from the mouldy volume he was peering into; he met Justin's sympathetic gaze before Hermione looked up as well and huffed at both boys.  
  
"Get reading, you two, we have no time to lose!" she snapped; seeing that Harry seemed somehow reluctant to follow her command, she raised her nose and asked in her best superior tone "Don't tell me you're tired already?! Malfoy seems to be doing OK, and he got here before you even woke up..." Harry looked towards the other table, where, of course, the Slytherin boy was efficiently looking up the index of an encyclopaedia, followed by Cho's unblinking gaze. Neither the Ravenclaws nor Draco looked tired, but Pansy was unhappily tapping her fingernails on the table and throwing disgruntled looks to her assigned book.  
  
"Pansy, darling, don't you think it's time you gave a small stroll around the castle to clear your head?" suggested Malfoy, annoyed by the sound of the fingernails over the polished oak.  
  
"Wonderful idea, Draco!" cooed the girl, taking the cue "I'll be right back!"  
  
"I'll go with you" offered Harry, standing up as well, taking the surprised girl's arm before she had time to utter any objections, and leading her out of the Library. "Thank goodness for that!" he exclaimed, releasing the Slytherin as soon as they were outside the heavy oak doors.  
  
"You crumpled my robes!" complained Pansy, examining the place where they had been in contact with the Gryffindor. Seeing that the damage had been minor, a wrinkle or two, she turned to Harry with a neutral expression. "I wonder how much time it'll take them to find whatever they're looking for"  
  
"I hope not much" yawned Harry, stretching his cramped arms "because I swear, if I spend another evening in that library, looking up non-existent references, I'll go mad!"  
  
"You say that as if you weren't already" retorted Pansy placidly, with a half-smirk.  
  
"Do you read Rita Skeeter as well?! That woman certainly has a fan-club..."  
  
"I helped write the article" shrugged the blonde girl, looking out of the window and towards the lake, where the giant squid had fallen asleep on the beach. "It should be nice to take a walk out there, shouldn't it?"  
  
***  
  
"I do not have the slightest idea on what the young men nowadays are up to!" exclaimed Rowena, shutting the drawers of her desk with a loud 'bang!'; Helga looked up, startled by the noise, and found her tall friend watching something outside, half-hidden by the curtains. "Our final exams are within a fortnight, and they are out there, playing that stupid game involving brooms, pebbles, cauldrons and a massive amount of blows to everyone... why can't they do something more sensible, like coming here to study?"  
  
Helga wisely chose to keep quiet, knowing Rowena wasn't asking for a answer; the tall girl was just in high levels of stress, bored out of her mind and needing something to drive her out of her state of perpetual annoyment. The heaven-sent gift was a sweaty Godric, sporting a bloody cut on his brow and a bruised arm, who came flying up to the window, motioning for his friend to open the window.  
  
"Come outside, Rowena, and do us a favour!!! The game is on its way to becoming a cruel battle if someone with brains does not join us soon..." Rowena crumpled her nose, not keen on getting on a broom "You don't have to fly if you don't wish to, your only duty is to keep an eye on us, and see that no Salazar gets involved in foul play"  
  
"Speak for yourself, Godric, I do not remember trying to knock anyone off their broom with my cauldron" said Salazar from his place, while Rowena already had her cloak on and was flying down the stairs.  
  
Helga sighed softly; she would have said no anyway, but it would have been nice if they had invited her. Leaving her place by the fire, she went to the window and watched Rowena arguing with the players, surrounded as always by a small group of boys showing off in search of her approval. Not that breaking a bone in broom would do anything to earn the respect of the intelligent Lady Ravenclaw, but even a contemptuous look from her hazel eyes was valued. Helga turned away and towards the vanity table on the far corner; she looked at the mirror and saw only her short, dumpy figure with her blonde, straight hair and pale blue eyes. Nothing in her was striking, enchanting or even mildly eye-catching. Her only attractive, though she did not know it, was the sincerity of her gaze, the timid warmth of her smile, and the entire feeling of whole-heartedness she gave out. To distract her of her reverie came a impatient rapping at the window.  
  
"Helga, stop admiring yourself and come here!" called Salazar from outside; while the witch went to the window, Salazar flew off and pirouetted to avoid a rain of pebbles that descended upon him; with another heart stopping dive he tricked the stones into following Godric instead and then went back to Helga, followed by an admiring murmur from the rest of the students who were watching him. "How come you didn't follow Lady Ravenclaw in her afternoon stroll?"  
  
"I wasn't invited" confessed Helga, throwing a benevolent look to the girls who were envying her from the ground; Salazar's dark expression grew darker at this. "I would have refused anyway, you know I must study Transfiguration well in advance..."  
  
"I promised to help you with that subject" interrupted the dark-haired boy "and you must take a rest, Helga, you've barely stopped reading to eat in these last few days... you hardly go into the garden anymore, and Godric and I miss having fresh cut flowers pinned to our robes every morning"  
  
"I'm sorry about that!" wailed Helga, covering her eyes with her small hands "I completely forgot, I was so tired this morning!"  
  
"It was a joke, Helga" soothed Salazar, smirking when a particularly big pebble fell noisily into Godric's cauldron. "I much rather have you sleeping in the mornings than have a bouquet on me... I only meant to say that you must really stop the rhythm of work, because not even Rowena studies as much as you do. You'll do fine in those exams, I'm sure!" And then, Salazar flew off to join in the game, and stop a particularly cute scene of a wounded Godric and an immaculate Rowena.  
  
Helga smiled from her place in the window before going back inside; she would wake up early next morning, and pick the prettiest flowers in the garden.  
  
***  
  
"So, are you trying to tell me that in the five years you've been studying at Hogwarts, you've *never* been to the lake?!" asked Harry in amazement, looking at the blonde girl walking by his side.  
  
"Why should I have come? It is quite pretty and everything, but I have a much better view in my grandfather's castle" replied Pansy, shrugging; seeing a particularly rough terrain ahead, she placed her hand on Harry's arm, to steady her high-heeled sandals, and continued. "Besides, there are much more interesting things to do inside the walls of Hogwarts... you know nothing of the pleasures of an evening spent at the hairdresser's, do you?"  
  
Harry decided not to dignify that with a response; at the same time, he was busy wondering why the girls he knew didn't have such pretty hands as Pansy. Lavender and Parvati sported really long nails, painted in all kinds of shocking colours, from forest green to Lockheart's pink, often with glitter and/or glow-in-the-dark effect; Aunt Petunia always wore the same chipped salmon pink nail-varnish, and Molly Weasley didn't even make the effort, while Hermione's nails were bitten and ink-stained. Pansy's, on the contrary, were of medium-length, with a translucent pink varnish and looking as if they had never touched a quill in their existence. Her perfume was nice as well, rose-blossom and magnolia, only perceived when one was really close to the girl, like when Harry had to help her climb over a fallen trunk. He compared the faint fragrance with Lavender's citrus perfume, or Paravti's orchid-and-cedar, whose mixed signals remained hours after their owners were gone, or Aunt Petunia's cheap chemist's-branded perfume, or Hermione's non-existent one.  
  
By the time Harry had emerged from his make-up reflections, they had already reached the far part of the lake, from where one could see Hogwarts in all its night-time glory.  
  
"Nice" admitted Pansy after a critical exam. "However, that tower there seems a bit too battered; it's no wonder really, as it faces the wind during most of the year, but..."  
  
"That's Gryffindor Tower" interrupted Harry with a faint smile on his voice at how Slytherins dissed Gryffindors without even trying.  
  
"That's why, then" answered Pansy, smiling as well; with her back to Harry, she continued her examination of the school "Ravenclaw's Tower, the tallest part of the castle, with the Astronomy classroom at the top; Hufflepuff must be all the ground floor of the south side, I've heard they have a passageway leading right into the greenhouses... now, isn't there a thought?"  
  
"What, the greenhouses?" asked Harry nervously.  
  
"No, the towers, and all the rest... the architecture, so to speak!" Harry' face must have shown the confusion her felt, because Pansy gave an impatient sigh and started making her way back. "I mean to say that if the Founder's Chamber really belongs to all four, it must be, a) in the middle of the school, b) in the common areas, or, c) having an entrance in each house. Wouldn't that make sense?"  
  
Everybody was gathered around Pansy, where she had summoned them when entering the library and announcing she had an idea. Draco gave an indefinable half-smirk, half-smile to his housemate, while Cho assented, looking nervous. Terry actually broke into a grin and got up to search for a map of Hogwarts, and Hermione gave a longing look to the book she was reading.  
  
"So, no more researching?" asked Justin hopefully.  
  
"I always though it was quite pointless, but it was the only thing we could do..." drawled Draco, shutting his book the first "Now, we can do a bit of terrain-examination. The two towers are the smaller areas, they can be searched easily, while the dungeons and the Hufflepuff wing..."  
  
"Wouldn't it be better to look in the common areas first?" interrupted Hannah, visibly flinching when Draco turned to her, only to melt in a puddle of blushes when the Slytherin gave a her a charming grin.  
  
"Nice input from Hannah, after all the common areas are open to everybody, and all in all, they are much smaller"  
  
"We can take care of the Great Hall, Trophy Room and annexes to it" offered Hannah, made brave by Draco's earlier compliment "We are doing an essay for Professor Binns about their history anyway, we have permission to stay there after hours"  
  
"Wonderful!!! We can look into the classrooms, we know all the teachers" exclaimed Cho eagerly, taking out parchment and quill.  
  
"I'll take the Library" sighed Hermione "Madam Pince is used to have me around"  
  
"I can go into the kitchens and the laundry" said Harry, relieved to think that Dobby would be doing all the work.  
  
"So, what's left for us, Boot?" asked Draco, apparently not very interested. The Ravenclaw boy looked into the map.  
  
"All the inside is covered, but there's a chance there's an outside entrance, so you could check the grounds... that would include the Forbidden Forest, I'm afraid."  
  
"Of course not!" interjected Cho hastily "The Forbidden Forest wasn't made a part of Hogwarts until the late sixteenth century, haven't you read 'Hogwarts: A History'?! The grounds before that were little more than the Quidditch field, the lake and the playground behind"  
  
"We'll see to that, then" agreed Draco lazily, holding out his arm for Pansy, as they prepared to leave "We can meet in three days, to see what we've discovered, if we have discovered anything at all. Until then" The Slytherins left without a backward glance, followed closely by a very relieved Justin and an excited Hannah.  
  
******  
  
"Naturally, Sir Gowain is trying to call my attention too" said Rowena, matter-of-factly, brushing her hair and talking to Helga, who nodded sympathetically "*And* Godric and Salazar as well..." she added, as an afterthought. Those last words awoke Helga from the sleepiness in which she had immersed herself when Rowena started talking about her admirers.  
  
"Godric and Salazar?!" the plump witch opened her blue eyes as wide as she could "But they are friends of ours, what makes you think...?"  
  
"Helga, friends or not, a boy of their age will be interested in a girl who happens to have, as I do, more beauty that is normally found in a human being" Rowena continued brushing her hair as a preparation to her sleep, without apparently noticing what she had said; Helga didn't notice either: she knew Lady Ravenclaw was very beautiful, and she knew that the poor girl didn't enjoy her beauty at all.  
  
Rowena Ravenclaw was easily the prettiest girl in Mr Grundy's school, with her pale skin, her auburn hair and big hazel eyes; she was one of the most intelligent students as well, although her achievements were perpetually overshadowed by her looks, thus making her hate everything that had to do with the splendour of her figure. And now, the struggle between her two best male friends for her interest came to reaffirm her opinion that beauty was just a very inconvenient trifle. What worried her was Helga; Helga, normally considered the shadow behind Rowena, the dumpy, lovable girl to whom no-one gave a second-look. It had been hard work to get her to talk to Godric and Salazar on their first year, but after that the four of them had grown really close and Rowena didn't want all that spoiled because both boys now happened to fancy her.  
  
"Is there no doubt about it?" pleaded Helga from her bed. Rowena nodded solemnly.  
  
"I wish there was" she replied truthfully "but seeing them and their ways when they share my company... no, there is no doubt about it. We can only hope they recover their senses soon, before the friendship we have grows stale"  
  
--------------------- A/N: Well, even Rowena Ravenclaw can be mistaken, you know? What do you think about the Harry/Pansy thing? At first it gave me the shivers, but seeing that she's not the pug-faced girl anymore... and Cho/Draco? Maybe unrequited? Hmm, endless possibilities... 


End file.
